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Remove-polythene drive literally goes up in flames
Drive for polythene-free state begins
Rally marks anti-polythene drive
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CCS no solution to curb emissions
NGOs seek 19 pc share in BBMB projects
Polls: ABVP retains hold
HC quashes Deans’ appointments
Work forcibly stopped
Revised policy for industrial plots
Programme to issue licences
‘State to turn into educational hub’
Two die in road mishap
Man strangles wife
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Remove-polythene drive literally goes up in flames
Shimla, December 21 Ironically, even as the weeklong “remove polythene campaign” was launched with much fanfare today, a virtual blame game has ensued between the Municipal Corporation (MC), the forest and the PWD authorities for the fire. Even as one agency put the blame on the other for the fire that broke out mysteriously on Friday night, there was no let up in the smoke rising from the site. Much to the discomfiture of the MC authorities, the High Court today sought an explanation from various agencies, including the MC, the Urban Development, the Environment and the Pollution Control Board, today over the cause of the fire. The matter is listed for hearing in the court tomorrow. The court had already directed the MC to shift its solid waste management plant from Darni Ka Bagicha on bypass to another site. What is worst is the timing of the fire in the heaps of non- bio-degradable waste which has been dumped here for the past almost two decades. “The latter half of December is the peak tourist season here when it is big time business for the tourism industry but with the skyline of the town blurred in smoke, tourists coming here would be in for a bitter experience,” said a hotelier. What is intriguing is the fact that nobody knows how the fire broke out as burning garbage, especially plastic, is totally banned. “The fire has not broken out at our dumping site but at the land fill site earmarked by the PWD, so it is for them to look into the causes of the fire,” said an MC official. He added that the cause for the endless smoke was probably the garbage that was buried deep inside the slope where garbage was dumped till a decade back. However, the fact remains that the MC has been found to be badly lacking as far as effective garbage disposal task is concerned. Even now one can see garbage littered all over the place despite the fact that the MC is supposed to cover the entire town under its door-to-door garbage collection scheme. With the shifting of the solid waste management plant to an earmarked site near Tara Devi still help up on the plea that it is being opposed by the locals there seems to be no respite for the residents of the town. Meanwhile, efforts are on to douse the fire, which is still sending up. |
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Drive for polythene-free state begins
Dharamsala, December 21 While speaking on the occasion, he appealed people to actively involve themselves with the week-long campaign to make it a mass movement and make Himachal first ‘polythene free state’ of the country. The Shimla Declaration of the Himalayan States’ Chief Ministers’ Conference had become the basic document of the country for launching of environment protection campaigns. The state was bound to emerge a carbon neutral state, he said. Dhumal further said 400 dumping sites had been identified across the state for dumping of muck and other solid waste in a scientific manner. The state government would be launching polythene collection campaign to collect dried plastic from people for shredding by road construction agencies. The state had constituted a State-Level Governing Council to oversee environment protection activities. He also announced opening of a Pollution Control Board Regional Office at Dharamsala. The state had banned use of polythene bags from October 2, 2009. He thanked traders and people for voluntarily shedding away the use of polythene. Dhumal appealed to the people of the state to continue their support in making Himachal environmentally a safe state. The collected polythene would be used for road metalling since the experiment carried in this regard by PWD had been successful. This would be replicated in other parts of the state in a phased manner. This effort would not only result into gainful use of the polythene waste but also construct plastic coated roads, which would be long lasting and durable in all respects. The Chief Minister congratulated and appreciated Deer Park Bir, an NGO, for their maiden endeavour of creating mass awareness among people about the drastic effect of plastic waste. He also thanked the Tibetan Administration for offering their volunteer services to make Himachal Pradesh polythene free. Dhumal announced a grant of Rs 21,000 to GSSS Raja ka Talab and Rs 21,000 to artists of Public Relations Department for their impressive environment-related cultural presentations. Later, he flagged off vehicles carrying shredded polythene from the venue. Industries Minister Kishan Kapoor thanked the CM for launching the campaign from Dharamsala. IPH Minister Ravinder Ravi and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Sarveen Chaudhary were among others present on the occasion. |
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Rally marks anti-polythene drive
Hamirpur, December 21 Several non-government organisations, government servants and schoolchildren participated in the rally, which was flagged off by Hamirpur ADM CP Verma. The participants before collecting waste polythene material in the town marched through the main bazaar raising slogans against use of polythene products carrying placards and banners. Later, waste polythene material collection work was also undertaken and this material was dumped at a central point in the PWD rest house, for its final disposal. The reports of awareness campaign against the use of polythene have also been received from other places in the district. Under the campaign, which will continue till December 26, cooperation from public, NGOs and other government agencies is being sought to make the district polythene free. The state government had already banned the use of polythene in the state and now efforts were being made to make the state polythene free through this awareness campaign. |
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CCS no solution to curb emissions
Shimla, December 21 The CCS technology involved separation of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gases and taking the same to the remote geological spaces for safe storage but it had not been proven on commercial scale so far. Further, its adoption would increase the cost of thermal plants and reduce their generation efficiency, virtually doubling the cost of electricity. Worse, some of the manufacturers were monopolising the design, manufacture and supply of plant and equipments required for it, Verma who was in the city to deliver a lecture on climate change, explained. A better alternative would be to increase the efficiency of existing plants and use supercritical technology in new thermal plants to bring down carbon emissions. The coal-fired power plants were the main source of CO2 emissions and the power sector alone accounted for about 550 million CO2 in absolute terms. The specific CO2 emissions from coal-based power plant were 1.08 tonnes of CO2 per MWh (megawatt hour) based on net generation. By deploying the supercritical technology it could be brought down to 0.94 tonnes of CO2 per MWh. Average CO2 emission per unit of electricity generation (net) in the country had been brought down to about 0.8 tonne of CO2 but it was bound to increase in future due to more share of coal-fired plants. Modernisation of a 210-MW plant could reduce emissions by 2,90,000 tonne per annum and with the government proposing plants with 20,000-MW capacity for renovation and upgrade, reduction would be enormous. Similarly, retirement and replacement of old inefficient plants with efficient ones and bringing down transmission and distribution losses from the existing 28 per cent to 15 per cent to increase generation and save power which in turn lead to reduction in CO2 emissions. |
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National trekking expedition begins
Dalhousie, December 21 The Youth Hostels’ Association of India (YHAI) is organising the expedition at Dalhousie for the 17th year in succession. More than 800 participants drawn from over 16 states are participating in this trek in 18 batches. While addressing the trekkers, Chadha said, “Several software engineers are participating this time, mostly from the southern states. This will promote tourism towards Dalhousie from the southern-most part of the country.” She said, “The UN Climate Summit has just ended in Copenhagen, wherein the world leaders talked about reducing emission, which are warming up the atmosphere. The Himalayas are the lungs of India and the green cover in Himachal is very much contributing in maintaining the ecological balance. When you trek through the forests of this area you will realise the same yourself. Most of you who have come from crowded cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore will have a chance to breathe unpolluted air.” Krishna from Chennai, a first-time trekker, said, “I have read and heard a lot about Himachal, but on seeing the natural beauty here I felt thrilled. The people here are very simple and friendly.” Co-director of the programme Raj Kumar Chauhan said the Dalhousie trek was getting popular among professionals and many doctors, lawyers and IT personnel were participating in the expedition. Earlier, YHAI’s national chairman Dr Harish Saxena addressed the participants live from Delhi. He said the purpose of organising such programmes was to help youth come closer to nature. The YHAI has over the years taken more than lakh youngsters on such treks in different parts of the country, he added. The participants will be trekking to Panchpulla in the first instance. They will then trek to Kalatop, Khajjiar and Chamba. The first batch consisted of 50 participants from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab. |
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NGOs seek 19 pc share in BBMB projects
Mandi, December 21 “If the Centre dilly-dallies on the issue as it has done by filing the fresh affidavit in the apex court, we will be forced to resort to direct action taking possession of the projects located in their rivers,” they warned. Citing documents on agreements signed between the central government and the then king of Bilaspur and states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal, HNA coordinator Guman Singh claimed that Himachal was entitled for not only 7.19 per cent share in the Beas and Bhakra projects, but also entitled for 12 per cent free power share. HNA president Kulbhushan Upmanyu said the relief and rehabilitation of oustees should have been long over, but it was a sad state of affairs that the Centre was submitting an affidavit detrimental to the mental agonies and shock of displacement suffered by the ousteees over the decades. The governments should have come out together on the issue, but the central government backtracked, leaving the oustees to fend for themselves, the activists charged. Not only this, president, Bhakra Visthapit Sudhar Samiti, fighting for rights of the ousteees, Nand Lal, said, “Even Himachal government is not implementing the Schedule Tribal and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, in the case of oustees and other similar people living in the forests’ surroundings in the state. “Instead it has issued notices to evict them after they somehow managed to eke out their living from the arid and semi-arid land they have cultivated over the years by hard work,” he said. Guman said the HNA would hold the national seminar on ‘Local livelihoods and Himalayan ecology in Kullu’ from December 27-28 in which NGOs from Himachal, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir would participate. |
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Polls: ABVP retains hold
Shimla, December 21 The ABVP won the key posts of secretary and joint secretary and also bagged two out of three posts of members for which direct elections were held. The NSUI-SFI alliance had to be content with one post
of member. For the post of secretary, Vishal Nehria of the ABVP from Regional Centre, Dharamsala, polled 59 votes defeating Seema Chaudhary of the NSUI from Shimla campus, who got 41 votes. Swati Garg of the ABVP from the HPU campus defeated Kusum of the SFI, also from the campus, by 16 votes. Swati polled 58 votes against 42 votes polled
by her rival. The election for three posts of members was held on the basis of preference votes and Abhinav Guleria (ABVP) from Mandi
College, Kiran (ABVP) from RKMV, Shimla, and Monica Gill (SFI) from RKMV, Shimla, were declared winners. The polling concluded peacefully except minor scuffles between supporters of the ABVP and SFI at the HPU campus on
few occasions. The ABVP had trounced the NSUI-SFI alliance in SC elections by huge margins last year also but the gap narrowed down this year as the NSUI fared comparatively better in Students Central Associations (SCA) polls this year. The five member SC is considered the supreme body in the state and its elected secretary is also ex-officio member of the Executive Council, the highest decision making body of the university. The chairman of the council is not elected and the Vice-Chancellor holds
the post. The defeated SFI-NSUI alliance leaders accused the ABVP of misusing government machinery and pressure to win the polls while ABVP state secretary Navin Sharma dismissed the charge as an alibi to hide the embarrassment caused by humiliating defeat. |
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HC quashes Deans’ appointments
Shimla, December 21 Justice Rajeev Sharma, while terminating their appointments with immediate effect, held that the terms and conditions of appointment cannot be changed in the middle of the selection process. Dr Kahan Bassi and others had filed a petition challenging the appointment of the respondents. The respondents, Dr Pardeep Kumar, Dean of Studies, Dr OP Sharma, Dean of College of Agriculture, Dr KK Katoch, Director Distance Education, and SC Sharma, Director Research were appointed by the university in 2006. According to the petitioners, posts were advertised on May 31, 2006 and the selection process was completed by November 2, 2006. It was alleged that university amended its act and changed the selection committee arbitrarily. The petition further added that according to the old rules the selection committee comprised the Vice-Chancellor, three scientists and a member of Indian Research Council whereas in new rules the Vice-Chancellor and member of Indian Council of Agriculture were not a part of the selection committee. The petitioner contended that the amendment during the selection process was in violation of the rules thus the appointments may be quashed. The university failed to produce the record of selections before the High Court despite the orders.
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Work forcibly stopped
Shimla, December 21 The work was allegedly stopped by some workers who have not been paid their dues. A spokesman of the corporation said the workers were employed by the sub-contractors of the Kirloskar Construction Company which is executing the head race tunnel. The corporation had cleared all dues of the company and as such it was not responsible for the non-payment of dues. It was thus illegal and unfair to create hindrance in work of the corporation as it would cause losses and delay the project. While the corporation was willing to help the workers in payment of dues, it could not take responsibility for it. The affected workers could approach the court and seek legal remedy. He cautioned that the corporation would be constrained to report the matter to the authorities concerned for taking action under law against those illegally disrupting work. The corporation had already given notice to the company for taking over the work due to non-performance. |
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Revised policy for industrial plots
Kullu, December 21 This was stated by Manoj Kumar, Commissioner Industries, during his visit to the Industrial Area, Shamshi here today. He said the main thrust of the department was to promote industries keeping in view the dearth of land for developing new industrial areas. The department had initiated the proposal to allow renting out a part of building. He stressed on the autonomous status of Industrial Area Development Authority (IADA) and strengthening of financial position of the body represented by the entrepreneurs. He said the proposal of the flood protection and drinking water of the industrial area here would be sanctioned immediately and funds would be released. Manoj Kumar expressed satisfaction on the industrial units functioning in a small place like Kullu and said he would look for further development of the area. He also called upon the entrepreneurs and the GM Industries to suggest some vacant land in this district for developing another industrial area. Later, the director had a meeting with the entrepreneurs and assured speedy execution of proposed works and pending transport subsidies of some units. The General Manager District Industries, Chaman Lal, authorities of HPSIDC (Himachal Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation) and IADA members were present in the meeting. |
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Programme to issue licences
Hamirpur, December 21 He said the welfare department would also distribute forms for obtaining old age and widow pensions and seeking grant for repairs of old houses for the weaker sections. DC said before this MP would lay foundation stone of taxi stand, sarai building at Abahdevi and indoor stadium at Bagwara. |
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‘State to turn into educational hub’
Bilaspur, December 21 Nadda said four universities were being opened at Una, Bilaspur, Chamba and Sirmaur districts. He said apart from a polytechnic college, a hydro engineering college, the first ever in country, would be started here in Bilaspur district for which land would be allotted. Forests Minister said Rs 52 lakh were being spent on construction of school science laboratory block and Rs 40 lakh would be spent on construction of Community Centre at Kandraur and Rs 60 lakh on construction of the Ayurveda building. The Kandraur to Barmana road would be converted in double lane in Rs 16 crore. He announced grant of Rs 3 lakh for school boundary wall, Rs 1 lakh for basket ball court. |
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Two die in road mishap
Nurpur, December 21 The driver of the vehicle was seriously injured. According to the police, after hitting the car the brick-loaded truck lost its balance and fell on the car. Dev Raj of Nurpur and Raj Singh of Guriyal village in Nurpur were seriously injured in
the mishap. The police and locals lifted the truck with the help of a crane and a JCB machine. The two injured were rushed to a hospital at Shahpur where they succumbed to injuries but the car driver, Mahinder Singh, resident of Guriyal was rushed to Tanda Medical College. The deceased were returning from
Dharamsala. The police has registered a case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC and arrested truck driver Kartar Singh. |
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Man strangles wife
Chamba, December 21 The accused had been arrested and booked for murder under Section 302 of the IPC in the Sadar police station, Chamba. The police abstained to divulge the reasons of murder till the investigation was not completed. The body of the deceased Pratima had been brought to the regional hospital in Chamba for carrying out an autopsy. |
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